Hundreds of North Sea offshore jobs were expected to be axed today by oil giant Shell.

Senior managers were meeting staff and unions in Newcastle to reveal the extent of the losses.

Offshore union leaders have expressed fears that the cost-cutting initiative could lead to several hundred jobs going.

Shell has refused to comment on how many employees might be affected but almost 1,600 people work in offshore operations for the company.

Deck crews, scaffolders, storeroom workers, crane drivers and mechanics are among those threatened. Thousands of North East shipyard and engineering jobs are dependant on the offshore industry.

Amicus, the largest union for offshore workers, said it expected that more than 200 maintenance jobs would go.

Engineering group Amec, which employs 600 workers on Tyneside, is one of Shell's major offshore contractors.

Bosses at the yard in Wallsend, where they are working on the Bonga platform, were today consulting workers about the Shell decision. A spokesman for the company refused to comment until after the Shell announcement.

Amicus regional officer Graham Tran said: "We are concerned about any job losses given the fact that they will be looking for better results with less people. That understandably raises concerns for us."

It is understood that Shell has been reviewing its North Sea operations for the past six months in the hope of boosting production by 25 per cent.

Shell began review talks last October with offshore contracting companies, who supply a wide range of services and workers for the North Sea. There are also safety fears over the reduction in workers. Unions have threatened to call in the Health and Safety Executive if they believe workers are being put at risk.

Jake Malloy, of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, (OILC), union, said: "We're concerned that the extent of the cuts will have an impact on safe operations.

"We're not exactly sure of the numbers involved, but given the reports by the partnership unions who have visited several installations it looks as though we could be talking about up to 170 jobs, or even more, across Shell operations."

But general workers union GMB accused Shell of being "short-sighted". Shipbuilding and engineering sector senior organiser Jim Moohan said: "The projections are for about 200 jobs to go, which would be about 13 per cent of the workforce, which is still very substantial. That is a lot of people to take out of a business in which safety is paramount.

"We have serious concerns over the safety implications of this decision and have questions about how maintenance will be done.

"It shows a lack of vision and failure in forward planning. It demonstrates a lack of compassion for the people they are laying off.

"North Sea oil workers are skilled and highly experienced. If they drive them out of the industry then they will have trouble with recruitment and training in the future."